The invention relates to a method of casting a metal alloy ingot. The method includes providing an on one side open-ended mould having a mould cavity, positioning the open-ended mould such that the mould opening points side-wards or down-wards, providing a casting container with an upwardly positioned aperture, and filling said casting container with molten metal for one casting operation. The method also includes locating the casting container below the mould while the mould opening points side-wards or down-wards, and rotating the mould together with the casting container to a position whereby the mould opening points upwards such that the molten metal is conveyed into the open-ended mould until a desired thickness. Molten metal in the open-ended mould is cooled directionally through its thickness where the solidification front remains substantially monoaxial.

The invention relates to a method for the additive manufacturing of a three-dimensional workpiece from a liquid material (1), in which method the liquid material (1) is fed to a displacement chamber (2) and discharged in drop form via a jet hole (4) by means of a pressure pulse which is generated with the aid of a reciprocating piston (3) delimiting the displacement chamber (2). According to the invention, in order to optimise the wetting properties of at least one surface (5, 6) which delimits the displacement chamber (2) and/or the jet hole (4), sound waves are coupled into the liquid material (1) for a limited period of time with the aid of the piston (3) which is caused to vibrate for this purpose. The invention also relates to a device for carrying out the method according to the invention.

The method can include: using a mold, casting an encapsulation onto a workpiece including solidifying the encapsulation around the workpiece in the mold and extracting the encapsulation from the mold, and cooling the extracted encapsulation using a vortex tube.

An improved additive manufacturing system for manufacturing metal parts by magnetohydrodynamic printing liquid metal. A monitoring system including at least one camera capturing light reflected from a strobe light source. Images of the droplets are captured during their jetting and analyzed to determine whether the jetting performance is meeting specifications. A nozzle of the system has a nozzle bottom and a nozzle stem extending outward therefrom on which a meniscus of liquid metal can form. The nozzle is cleaned by bringing a ceramic rod in the vicinity of the nozzle and jetting a bead of metal which is rotated against the nozzle to remove an amount of dross.

A substrate for 3D printing using a cold spray technique. The substrate of the present invention has a porous surface with the size of pores smaller than approximately 24.4 times the mean particle size of feedstock powders for cold spray processing and larger than or equal to approximately 6.84 times the mean particle size. Due to no adhesion of a 3D-printed part to the porous regions of the substrate, the parts fabricated by cold spray can be easily removed from the porous substrate without cutting.

Provided is a supergravity directional solidification melting furnace equipment, including a supergravity test chamber and, mounted in the supergravity test chamber, a high-temperature heating subsystem, a crucible, and an air-cooling system. The supergravity test chamber is mounted with a wiring electrode and a cooling air valve device. The high-temperature heating subsystem is fixed in the supergravity test chamber. The crucible and the air cooling system are provided in the high-temperature heating subsystem. The high-temperature heating subsystem includes upper, middle, and lower furnaces, a mullite insulating layer, upper and lower heating cavity outer bodies, upper and lower heating furnace pipes, and a crucible support base. A high-temperature heating cavity is divided into upper and lower parts, is provided therein with a spiral groove, and is fitted with a heating element. The crucible support base is provided therein with a vent pipe channel into which a cooling air is introduced. The crucible and the air cooling system include air inlet and exhaust pipes, a cooling base, a cooling rate adjustment ring, the crucible, and an exhaust cover.

A method of additive manufacturing can include forming a machine part having a first portion formed from a cast iron material; forming a second portion adjacent the first portion formed of a combination of the cast iron material and a different material; and forming a third portion adjacent the second portion formed of only the different material, wherein the third portion is located at a predetermined critical area of the machine part.

An implementation of the present teachings includes inner shell for a printer, such as a liquid metal printer, that mitigates problems associated with the formation of dross. The inner shell can be installed in a reservoir of the printer during a printing process where, during the printing process, a dross can form on an interior sidewall of the inner shell. Subsequently, the inner shell can be removed and either cleaned or replaced. During printing, the inner shell can be raised and/or lowered, or otherwise repositioned, so that the dross forms over a larger surface area of the inner shell, and at a decreased thickness, compared to an inner shell that is not repositioned.

A three-dimensional printing system, the system comprising a build platform and a printhead for depositing a conductive print material at deposition contact points of a build surface on the build platform. A heating system comprises at least one induction coil for preheating the deposition contact points of the build surface.

The invention relates to a method for the rapid manufacture of a three-dimensional workpiece from a molten material (1), in particular a molten metal, in which method the molten material (1) is supplied to a compression chamber (2) and delivered in drop form via an injector hole (4) by means of a pressure pulse which is generated with the aid of a reciprocating piston (3) that delimits the compression chamber (2). According to the invention, the compression chamber (2) is degassed before manufacturing begins and/or during a pause in the manufacturing. In a first step, ultrasonic waves are coupled into the molten material (1) in the compression chamber (2), which generate a force (F.sub.Bjrk) that makes the gas in the molten material (1) sink, and in a second step, after the ultrasonic excitation has ended, the piston (3) is introduced deeper into the compression chamber (2) in order to remove the rising gas via a conduit (5) of the piston (3). The invention also relates to a device for carrying out the method according to the invention.